Hello all! I'm Erika in Didsbury and I've just recently gotten back into riding seriously after several years off. What a treat it is to get back to my roots. Right now I'm working on dressage and hunter with my two warmbloods, but I got my start working western pleasure and trail. I've also had the pleasure of getting to drive standardbredd race horses and have been training horses and teaching riding for more than 15 years now. I'm really excited to be getting back to things and re-establishing connections within the community.

It's nice to have fellow equestrians in the area. I certainly seem to be in the minority right now with my dressage training and have yet to find a place out this way with any significant jumps so that I can get back over fences. Oh, the joys of being the new-comer to an area!

I guess that I'm going to have to get to know the reining community more too, since I'm not familiar with Gregg either! Well...if you're not learning, you're not living I suppose! Good to meet you!

LOL Yeah I don't really know of alot of dressage people around the area! A good friend of mine does Dressage/Jumping in Calgary, but that is about all I know!

You will just have to start doing some reining with your warmbloods! A friend of mine in BC is doing that, and they are actually doing pretty well at local events, she does get laughed at some though. She is pretty tough skinned!

LOL I've actually used my mare for everything except driving. I've done lots of trails with her, worked cattle, used her as my lesson horse and reined on her. I have to admit, it hasn't been "western" training, but she'll do almost anything I put her to. She's the best bareback horse I've ever had. (Could have something to do with being quite wide! LOL) The gelding would probably take one look at a western saddle and be distgusted by having to endure the indignity of being less than a Grande Prix dressage horse and jumping phenom. He seems to fancy himself as quite the prince.

Reiners will come later, I'm sure. I could just convert you all to the grace and elegance of dressage. Yeah....LOL

HAHA I really don't see me as a dressage person! I am far to ungracful and clumsy...and my horses seem to take after me...lol. Plus I don't think I would ever be able to get up a horse that is taller than 15 1 hh

Hey there! I'm about 45mins SE of you in Beiseker. Primarily western, barrel racing and going to teach my gelding to rope. It helps as we run cattle here, so an english saddle would be AWFULLY hard to work in! LOL! I do have a big StandardbredX gelding that is my mans rope horse that would make a gorgeous english boy though....so I'm thinking of building some jumps and trying him out! LOL! Poor guy! Welcome! You said you were new to the area? Where are you from?

Hey KiddingAround! That's so cool! The only time I've ever roped anything, it was an injured bull calf who I walked up to and slipped the rope around his neck. He was still laying down at the time. LOL I never figured out how to throw the rope right.

I love standardbreds. They're totally amazing. Let me know if you do build jumps and I'll try to come out and see how he goes. I've seen many that were really great over fences.

I'm originally from Regina, SK, but I moved to Calgary in 1995 and always kept my horses south of Calgary. After a few years of competition out here, I was ready to quit horses entirely because of the politics and backstabbing. So...I've been pretty out of the loop here for about 10 years, just riding on my own and working really hard on not allowing a few nasty people to push me away something that I have loved my entire life.

I will for sure let you know! Poor guy. A life as a ranch horse, then he comes here to be tortured! He hasn't done much since coming here though, as my fiance hurt is back so can't ride for a bit. Once the jumps get built ( nothing big, just some little cavaletti's I think ) we are gonna use them for fun.